House Meimyaku
Meimyaku means life or the thread of life. The meimyaku control life energy, such as chi, the ley lines, magnetic fields, lightning, and other forms of pure energy. Chikara, the founder and Empress of the Meimyaku, stands for balance, harmony, familial bonds, freedom, good will, honor, and responsiblity. She often tells her children that being open and accepting of others is important, that we should all strive to understand those different from us, but we should also not let our empathy cloud our judgement of right and wrong or keep us from doing what is necessary. Those that abandon their responsibilities, do not stand up for themselves or their friends, or intend ill will towards those who do not deserve it, are cowards, and undeserving of the Meimyaku title. Though Lady Chikara is kind and generous, she also has a firm sense of what needs to be done, and will not hesitate to do what is necessary. Because of their abilities, Most Meimyaku are healers, vetinarians, botanists, technicians, scientists, crafters, and warriors. The meimyaku main focus is nature and life, even professions such as technicians and crafters or artisans, have a tough of nature woven throughout their creations. The Meimyaku clan, unlike many of the others, is not based simply on bloodline, but on commitment to the Meimyaku way of life. Anyone wishing to join the Meimyaku clan must commit themselves to the beliefs of the clan, and uphold it's principles. Every potential member must go to the Light Academy and begin to learn the history, culture, philosophy, sciences, politics, and world views of the Meimyaku. Once they graduate from the Light Academy, they must go through the Ritual of Change in order to recieve their abilities. Once they have the power of the Meimyaku, the new clan member must then go to one of the Masters for training. Becoming a Meimyaku Usually starting at a young age, those that wish to join the Meimyaku will enroll in the Light Academy. Though the Light Academy is open to all ages, the typical age range of the students is usually 10-17. After 5 years of studying all the various aspects of the Meimyaku culture, the students will be tested to see if they are ready to become a Meimyaku clan member. Should they pass, a festival of graduation will be held, and Lady Chikara herself will perform the Ritual of Change. If the students should fail, they will be elligible to take the test again next year, and every year after that until they pass. The Festival is held for 3 days at the beginning of Autumn. The first day is a day of congratulations and recognition of the hard work the students put in to graduate. The second day is a day of celebration, and the third is the accepting of the new members into the clan. At the end of the third day, after the last rays of the sun are gone and the first stars beging to appear, Lady Chikara will perform the Ritual of Change. Though the abilities of the Meimyaku are not passed on by blood, the Ritual of Change is something only one of the Royal Family. The Royal Family are the founder and holder of the bloodline of the Meimyaku clan. Should all of the Royal Family die, no new Meimyaku members could be born, there by leading to the extinction ofthe Meimyaku clan. Because of the immense power the Meimyaku hold, and the potential for longevity, there is a trade off. Anyone who goes through the Ritual of Change may only give birth once. Once a couple concive, that man and woman become barren. This helps to keep the population under control and to make sure that the Meimyaku do not become too powerful or overwhelming. Children are highly revered in Meimyaku society, and a multiple birth is a sign of blessing and the God(s) favor. Killing a child is considered and act of treason, a declaration of war if the killer is from another clan, and punishable by public execution. Though the Meimyaku prefer to not go to war whenever possible, they will respond violently to the death of a child. They will only stop if they are defeated in war, or the offending clan hands over the killer to them. Should the death of the child be accidental, those responsible will be exiled. The Meimyaku does not have any treaties or political alliances with any of the other clans. Lady Chikara declared the Meimyaku to be neutral, and that Meimyaku territory is no-man's-land in the event of civil war. The Meimyaku offer assistance to any and all that need it. They are not for or against anyone, the only exception being that they will follow the orders of and support the Emperor. Though the meimyaku are giving and kind, they do not coddle or allow idleness. The Meimyaku will give you the means that you need in order to survive, such as food, healing, water, shelter, but anything beyond that you must earn or provide yourself. They will not allow anyone to take advantage of them, and they will reward effort. Specialties Healing: Those of the Meimyaku clan can call upon the life energy of a living thing, and manipulate it into recreating lost tissue and fluids. in order to do this, the healer must have extensive knowledge of the structure of the body, interal and external, that they are healing. They must be able to recreate the function, textures, size, and purpose of the organs or tissues they are attempting to recreate. Any slips in structure or placement could result in a weakened body part, or failed attempt at healing. Though the meimyaku are very adempt healers, they cannot bring back or heal the dead. These rules apply to humans, non-human and plant speicies alike. Energy attacks: The Meimyaku are capable of pulling together and concentrate large amounts of energy into many forms of attack such as manifestations of weapons, blasts or waves of energy. They can also absorb other energy attacks, or suck the life energy out of other living beings or very active machines or even natural disasters. The stronger and more training/practivce a Meimyaku has, the more energy they are able to control or withstand. Warriors often use this as their most powerful attacks. Energy manipulation: As a Meimyaku becomes more powerful, he/she is able to preform more complex and intricate feats. After learning to gather and concentrate energy, a Meimyaku is then able to form physical manifestations (such as weapons or objects, sometimes entire rooms) made out of pure energy, direct that energy from one location to another (similar to how a wire works), heal, drain, set up complex circuits, power machines with only a touch, or focus their ablities to pull energy from only specific areas of an entity, such as heat away from the motherboard of a computer to protect it, but still allowing enough energy through to keep the computer from shutting off. This energy manipulation comes in handy for technicians, scientists, warriors,and some craftsmen. Longevity: A Meimyaku is able to absorb energy from any source, including the life energy of any living creature. The amount of life energy within any living thing is limited to the life span of that being, though it is not set at a permanent number. As someone becomes ill or gets injuried, their levels of life energy may drop, and someone who works out and eats right, may increase their overall life energy. Longevity is not looked upon fondly, however, as taking a person's life energy could easily kill them, or leave them in a weak state where they could easily die. Another side effect of draining someone, if the amount taken is significant enough, is rapid aging. Until the being that has lost it's life energy is built back up, the aging process will accelerate. Basicly, if you take life energy from anything, you are affectively shortening it's life by taking the years/months/days it would have lived, and adding it to your own. The only acceptable uses of this technique are taking the life energy of someone trying to kill you, or if you are about to die and you need some to keep you alive long enough to heal yourself. Noteable Members Unless of the Royal Family, every Meimyaku has three names: Personal, Family, Clan. When a Meimyaku becomes married or mated, each person adds their partner's family name behind theirs. Example: If Ryoku were to marry Saino, her name would become Ryoku Calligry Muramichi Meimyaku. When a child is born, the family name is takes depends on it's gender. If the child is a girl, then her family name will be that of her mother's maiden name, and the same for a boy and his father. Chikara Meimyaku - Meimyaku Clan Leader (Name Meaning: Energy) Hikari Meimyaku - Deceased Mate of the Empress (Name Meaning: Light) Itonami Meimyaku (nickname Nami) - Deceased Daughter of Chikara and Hikari (Name Meaning: Life) Ryoku Calligry Meimyaku - Female General of Chikara (Name Meaning: Power) *Hissori Allaree Meimyaku - Shizuka's Twin and Ryoku's Captain (Name Meaning: Quiet, Still or Deserted) *Aramusha Bilari Meimyaku - Ryoku's Captian (Name Meaning: Daredevil or Rowdy) *Tensai Nolun Meimyaku - Ryoku's Captain (Name Meaning: Calamity or Gift, Genius) Saino Muramichi Meimyaku - Male General of Chikara (Name Meaning: Talent) *Shizuka Allaree Meimyaku - Hissori's Twin and Saino's Captian (Name Meaning: Quiet, Peaceful) * * Still In Progress...